Standard Chartered Weighs Settling Iran Laundering Probe

British bank Standard Chartered is rushing to reach a settlement within days over charges it hid transactions tied to Iran and is set to resume talks with U.S. regulators on Monday, sources familiar with the situation said.

British bank Standard
Chartered is rushing to reach a settlement within days
over charges it hid transactions tied to Iran and is set to
resume talks with U.S. regulators on Monday, sources familiar
with the situation said.

The London-based bank's U.S. legal team have got as far as
discussing an amount with regulators, indicating progress has
been made before a Wednesday deadline, the sources told Reuters.

Standard Chartered could be forced to pay a fine of up to $1
billion to settle the charges, analysts said last week, although
there has been speculation that this figure could be higher to
assuage the New York banking regulator pressing the case

New York's Department of Financial Services alleged last
week that Standard Chartered hid transactions tied to Iran and
the regulator's head, Benjamin Lawsky, ordered the bank to
explain why it should not lose its licence at a hearing
scheduled for Wednesday.

"It looks like, rather than fight this in the courts,
they're looking to resolve this, hopefully ahead of Wednesday,"
said Investec analyst Vivek Raja.

The bank is awaiting information on whether executives will
be required to attend and Chief Executive Peter Sands remains in
Britain, a source close to the situation said.

Shares in Standard Chartered were up 1.5 percent to 1,346.5
pence at 1045 GMT, the top riser in Britain's FTSE 100
on hopes of an early resolution which would take away the
uncertainty of a damaging legal dispute and a higher fine.

Britain's financial regulator said it remained in close
contact with the bank and U.S. regulators.

Politicians have also been in close contact over the affair
as the loss of its New York banking licence would be a
devastating blow for Standard Chartered, effectively cutting off
direct access to the U.S. bank market.